*** Tuatara

TRADING WITH THE ENEMY

(Epic)

All of Tuatara's core members -- R.E.M. guitarist Peter Buck, Screaming Trees drummer Barrett Martin, Luna bassist Justin Harwood, Critters Buggin' saxophonist Skerik, Young Fresh Fellows guitarist Scott McCaughey, and Los Lobos saxophonist Steve Berlin -- have been down some interesting musical avenues in the past. But it's still refreshing to hear them branching out on Trading with the Enemy, the group's second release. Lounge-jazz vibes, bongos, timpanis, mandolins, and guitars drenched in reverb, wah-wah, and tremolo all contribute to the disc's exotic atmospheres. Less laconic than the rock-instrumental ensemble Friends of Dean Martinez, and more accessible than the jazz-driven post-rock instrumental group Tortoise, Tuatara draw on a variety of world musics, from "The Bender," with its didjeridoo intro, to an Afro-pop-tinged tribute to the late Fela Anikulapo Kuti ("Fela the Conqueror") to the Japanese-inflected "Koto Song (The Old Shinjuku Trail)."

-- Dave Brigham